Global Leaders in Rochester Debating Health Care Transformation

(ABC 6 News) - The most recent attempt to reform health care was squashed Tuesday, leaving a lot of Americans wondering what will happen next.

The Mayo Clinic Center for Innovation is holding its annual conference addressing similar questions and issues.

"We're really trying to close the gap between people and health,” Medical Director of the Mayo Clinic Center for Innovation Dr. Douglas Wood.

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More than 850 people and around 34 speakers with political, medical or patient backgrounds will pack the Mayo Civic Center for the tenth annual transform conference.

"We bring health care leaders from all over the country, and really, all over the world, to talk about problems in health care and health care delivery, and more importantly, to design new answers for the future,” Mayo Clinic Dr. Andrew Limper said.

Limper has worked for Mayo Clinic for 27 years. He said collaborating with people is the best way to come up with solutions to the many problems Americans face with medical expenses.

"The break-out sessions are all about how we design new ways to bring care more affordably and really build a future," Limper said.

"With all the debate going on in Washington this week about financing and insurance premiums, what's really important is how we can make people healthy and reduce costs at the same time," Wood said.

He said it's all about expanding those conversations to create change.

"It’s about health and that larger sense, and we can translate that to Rochester or Austin or Dodge Center,” Wood said. “That's really what's important."

"It brings awareness to what we do at the Mayo Clinic,” Limper said. “Yes, we're taking care of patients, but we're also trying to transform how we're taking care of patients."

Limper and Wood are just two of the many local doctors working hard, along with other physicians around the country, to find an answer.

"Our goal is that all of the attendees leave here with a greater sense of energy and confidence that they can actually make [it] happen," Wood said.

The conference will hold a debate Thursday about the current state of our nation's health care. It starts at 4:45 p.m. at the Mayo Civic Center. You can also watch the live stream right here on kaaltv.com.

The President has unveiled his plan to fight the opioid crisis and the plan includes the death penalty for drug traffickers. The president talked about his plan today in New Hampshire, a state hit hard by the opioid crisis.

"Everyday 116 Americans die from an opioid-related overdoes," said President Trump.